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Sunday, July 9, 2017

I knew absolutely nothing about the Summer of Love when I first started thinking about this spread. Obviously the words came before anything else. According to Wikipedia:

The Summer of Love was a social phenomenon that occurred during
the summer of 1967, when as many as 100,000 people, mostly young people
sporting hippie fashions of dress and behavior, converged in San Francisco's neighborhood Haight-Ashbury.

The Summer of Love refers to the summer of 1967, when an unprecedented gathering of as many as
100,000 young people converged on the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, creating a phenomenon of
cultural and political rebellion.

The bus shown above was taken from the internet. It was parked on Haight Street in the summer of 1967. For those of you who live in countries other than the U.S., this may be something new for you as it was for me.

I was amazed that this happened exactly 50 years ago, and there is a big revival of the Summer of Love this year in San Francisco. Fifty years later, many are still marveling at the often drug-induced hippies, who came during the summer and mysteriously disappeared in the fall, only to be replaced by street people.

But during that magic summer, the excitement was centered around the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Exciting new music was everywhere and it was often free. Bands like Jefferson Airplane, Steppenwolf, Big Brother & the Holding Company, Jimi Hendrix, and The Grateful Dead were a big part of the scene, but their names were virtually unknown before that summer.

These are the bands I still listen to, and I have often said I was born a generation too late.

Flower power became important, and those who flocked to the Haight-Ashbury area often carried flowers or wore them. They were truly opposed to war (the U.S. was being torn apart by what was going on in Viet Nam), and this was one of their symbols.

Of course, if you were headed to San Francisco during the Summer of Love,

be sure you wore flowers in your hair.

It's what set you apart from the "establishment." Trippy.

Materials used include white card stock I colored using shimmering mists through a piece of netting, a picture taken from the internet, three pieces of scrapbook paper, one heart shaped button, a Micron pen, and a bunch/bouquet of silk flowers.

Thanks for joining Bleubeard and me today as we looked back at the Summer of Love from 1967. We are grateful for your visit and hope you will join us for this Summertime Love adventure at Art Journal Journey.

20
thoughtful remarks:

Beautiful page, which brings back great memories for me. As an old hippie, I have fond memories of that time, and a summer camp I went to that year in England, sleeping in tents, listening to music, and enjoying everything the hippie-love-movement had on offer! Those were the days, and very special for me! Have a great Sunday, hugs, Valerie

Another wonderful page Elizabeth and a great post to read all about it. I didn't know about any of it but did live with psychedelic wall paper plus dress material and loved it all at the time. You have me wanting to look at some very old videos that we took way back then and see just how odd I looked. I was 25 so maybe I was sensible by then.

great post! I was too young in 1967 to wear flowers in my hair, but have since read and seen documentaries about the Summer of Love.

thanks for your lovely comment on the Hampton Court flower show. Think a lot of people got taken in by the forecast yesterday which originally said it wouldn't be as hot as it ended up.. (I nearly wore jeans!) I did debate about long sleeves to cover up from the sun. but decided against it. xx

I think this was a great idea for summer love. That VW bus really says 60's. I think VW should bring back the bus though, I bet a lot of people would buy them. All those old hippies...ok not old, but more aged hippies. LOL. Anyhow, this page speaks of historical summer love and that's always a good thing. Happy Sunday. Hugs-Erika

A fun page. I like the juxtaposition of the black and white photo of the VW bus with the colorful flowers.

I was a teeny bopper at this time. Too young to fully understand the Summer of Love concept. As radical as I got was having my hair cut very short like the model, Twiggy. The Brother was dating a girl who was a hairdresser and she thought the short look suited me. I've been wearing my hair very short ever since.

This is a great page - I love the hippy bus! The marbled paper makes a great psychedelic accent. I'm more of a Motown fan than a rock and roller, but I might have Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit stuck in my head today after reading this post! I would have been four that year so I too have no memory of these events but have certainly heard about this era over the years. Maybe because I'm on the West Coast where there are still enclaves of hippie culture. I'm curious about the flowers and how these will translate inside a journal. I would be worried they would be so dimensional as to impact other pages. They are perfect for the page though!

I would've been 11 that summer, so I missed all the excitement. It has a romance to it in my mind, and I've always wondered what it would've been like to be part of that "scene". I think you brought it to life :)

Summer before my senior year. Hippies, the music, the need for spreading love in such a dark time...I remember it well. Was far away in a suburb of Minneapolis, but wished I could have hit the road to Haight Ashbury or Woodstock. I pictured that VW bus in bright colors. :)

Fabulous and interesting post Elizabeth - brilliant page - love that VW.I was 7 in 1967 and not sure I was aware what was going on - I do recall (but maybe it might have been a year or so later) that my mum wouldn't let me have a bell to wear around my neck which was fashionable, but then at Christmas I somehow got my nan to get me a Christmas bell which I wore on the sly until I was caught out ha ha.My husbands ten years older so I know the music through him.It was a strange time and there were lots of weird films from that era.Gill xx

AHhhh.. the memories you have awaken with this post. I was 15 the year of the "SUMMER OF LOVE" and at a very rebellious stage in my life. My mother refers to it as the beginning of my years of "Radical Insanity" Coming from severely restricted religious family I was definitely the black sheep. I never made it to San Francisco that year but it wasn't from the lack of trying. :) But I did become very involve in the local "Hippie Movement" It was the threat of institutional treatment involving electro-shock treatments that kept me in school until graduation ...then all H*~* broke lose and I become a total wild child for a couple of years. But I grew up finally :)

Oh Elizabeth! I remember the days well although what I saw was on TV! I was married (for the first time) in the Autumn of '67 at the age of 19! This page so sums up that era! I remember going to see the stage version of 'Hair' and being pulled up onto the stage some years later! The song will now be in my head for the rest of the evening! Hugs, Chrisx

Bleubeard and I welcome you

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